1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to printers, more particularly to spatial light modulator printers.
2. Background of the Invention
Spatial light modulators typically comprise an array of individually addressable elements, either reflective or transmissive. Examples of these are liquid crystal devices (LCD), digital micromirror devices (DMD, also known as deformable mirror devices), actuated mirror arrays, and magneto-optic crystals. These modulators have several uses, including printing.
Spatial light modulators are used in printing applications to form the image that will eventually be transferred to the photosensitive substrate, such as a spinning drum or moving plate. The image can be formed in many ways. One way is to form the line image on the modulator array so that the image of a line of print is produced upon the elements of the array, then the array is illuminated and the image is transferred by light onto the surface.
Time delay and integration techniques can also form the image on the photosensitive surface. These techniques cause a line of data to be displayed upon the array, then moved to the next line of the array as the drum or plate moves relative to the array, repeating until the area of the drum or plate being exposed is no longer adjacent the array. In this manner, the gray scale of the line is determined by the number of lines of exposure it receives as the drum or plate moves past.
One problem with the use of spatial light modulators is that in most cases every element of the array must be fully operational. The difficulty in manufacturing a 100% defect free array of thousands of elements can prohibit their wide spread use. Spatial light modulator elements have two principal defects. They can stick in the ON state, where light is always reflected or transmitted even when not desired, or they can stick in the OFF state, where light is never transmitted or reflected even when desired. A method of using spatial light modulators with defective elements would eliminate waste and lower the cost manufacturing.